Rowland Leach Collection, 1910-1940

Summary

Creators:

Leach, Rowland, 1885-1963

Extent:

1 Linear Feet

Language:

English .

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains original musical scores composed by Rowland Leach from the 1910s through the 1940s.

Biographical / historical:

Rowland Leach was born in Massachusetts on April 26, 1885. He graduated from Beloit College with a Bachelor of Arts in 1908, and pursued further music study at Yale College. There he received a composition prize in 1909, was recognized with Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Lambda distinctions, and graduated with his Bachelor of Music in violin and composition in 1910.

Moving to Rockford, Illinois, Leach taught violin in a private studio for several years, and spent a year as concertmaster with the Calgary Symphony Orchestra. Returning to Illinois, he joined the faculty of the Bush Conservatory of Music in Chicago in 1914, and taught violin and music theory at DePauw University between 1928 and 1933. During this time, he authored the first edition of his textbook, University Harmony. He wrote that the aim of this book was "not that the student shall form the habit of naming, tagging, classifying each chord … but rather that through long practice he shall become able to recognize without classifying as he recognizes a friend on the street." 1

Moving to California, Leach joined the faculty of the University of Redlands in 1933, teaching harmony courses and overseeing the violin studio. In 1942 he was appointed Director of the School of Music, and, after a university reorganization, also directed the Division of Arts. He continued to teach violin and offer courses in composition and orchestration until he left the university in 1948.

Leach was married to Charlotte Van Winckle. He enjoyed boxing and wrestling, and in his later years, he became known as a landscape painter after taking up the hobby spontaneously "one rainy day in Hollywood".2 He died in Arizona in March 1963.3

1 Leach, Rowland. (1934). University Harmony, 2nd ed. Ann Arbor: Edwards Brothers.

2 "Rowland Leach Exhibits Work Done in New Field." (1939). Los Angeles Times, March 30, 1939: 14.

3 Hughes, Edan Milton. (1989). Artists in California, 1786-1940. San Francisco: Hughes Publishing Co.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Music
Orchestral music -- Scores

Restrictions:

There are no restrictions on research use of this collection.

Terms of access:

Portions of this collection are still covered under copyright in the United States. It is the researcher's responsiblity to seek permissions from the copyright holders for uses that fall outside of academic fair use.

Location of this collection:

University of Redlands

1249 E Colton Ave.

Redlands, CA 92374, US

Contact:

(909) 748-8022

library@redlands.edu

Website